Selected Circuits Projects

This activity was a one off for an after school program we ran but I am including it here because I am still fond of the design, how the workshop went, and the results. It came about because I love teaching campers light painting, but always wanted a way to have them create their own multi-color light painter. So I spent a whole day prototyping and iterating on different solderless light painters and aside from cutting myself on some tin sheet, developing this activity was personally an incredibly fun experience and a helpful reminder of how tinkering is at the core of my practice.

 The light painter went through many iterations, first using pieces of cut tin sheets, then bent brass fasteners and binder clips, then hacked clothes pins and copper tape, and finally, just copper tape on card with a rubber band. The campers loved using the different drill bits to drill the different required holes, but getting the rubber band around the block of wood a few times to be tight enough actually proved to be a big frustration. In the future, I think using ‘broccoli bands’ or some other means to hold the batteries in place would be better.